School Resources

Since 1990, Washington State's Hispanic population has increased by nearly 130%.   At the same time, this population trend has not found its way proportionally into the private school community.   The following information from our sister CAPE organization in Minnesota provides one organization's attempt at a response. Much of what is said here about the Twin Cities is applicable for our area, including local resources.

 

Independent K-12 Schools Courting Hispanic Families

 

St. Paul, MN – The Minneapolis-St. Paul area leads the Midwest with a 162% increase in Hispanic residents over the past decade, forcing businesses and nonprofits to find ways to connect with new Spanish-speaking community members. Private elementary and high schools in Minnesota are searching for ways to make their institutions and services welcoming and attractive to the Hispanic community as well.

 

Leading nonprofit, business and education leaders spoke to the nonpublic school community in a panel called ãUnderstanding the Hispanic Marketä at the annual Minnesota Independent Schools Conference held in late 2002. Hosted by the Minnesota Independent School Forum (MISF) and Minnesota Nonpublic School Accrediting Association (MNSAA), the session was part of a daylong conference for school administrators.

 

Led by MISF director of multicultural services, Phyllis Braxton Stringfield, panelists represented both the corporate and nonprofit experience in marketing plus their background as students in private schools and parents and experience from within private schools. Panelists were:

 

  • Carlos Marianni-Rosa , executive director of the Minnesota Minority Education Partnership and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives
  • Elsa Vega-Perez , program officer at the Otto Bremer Foundation;
  • Jeannine Haaker , 3M marketing communications manager for Latin America and U.S. Hispanic Markets
  • Gabriela M. Harper , marketing consultant with The „u Group
  • Fernando Hernandez , diversity coordinator, Saint Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights
  • M. Matthew Musel , development director at Bethlehem Academy in Faribault

Tips for Recruiting Hispanic Students to Private K-12 Schools

  • ãIt's important for schools to negotiate traditions and cultivate relationships when dealing with Hispanic communities,ä notes Carlos Marianni-Rosa.
  • Schools must also validate parents and make efforts to connect with them, according to Elsa Vega-Perez, a graduate of Catholic schools whose child attends an independent school in St. Paul.
  • Allow students flexibility in choosing the focus of their projects so they can integrate their culture into projects of their own choosing, notes Vega-Perez.
  • Within the corporate world, there are benchmarks for integrating the workforce. Schools can follow a similar model and find out what educational institutions that are successful at recruiting and retaining Hispanic students do as model programs advises Jeannine Haaker from 3M.   And, businesses are looking for well-educated Hispanics to fill a wide range of positions.
  • ãHispanicä is a broad term that defines a group by their common language of Spanish, yet Hispanics in Minnesota are a diverse group with unique histories and cultures specific to their country of origin. The panelists noted that among the five Hispanics on the panel they all had grown up with different national identities and experiences.
  • Coming from outside the Hispanic community, it is important to work through leaders within the community. ãIt is nearly impossible to walk into the community and receive support,ä notes Fernando Hernandez. But, developing a relationship with community leaders and allowing them to be advocates for your school will give your school credibility within the local Hispanic community.
  • Within the Hispanic community, family is very, very important and includes what Americans usually consider extended family like grandparents. Choosing a school is a family decision and may mean making a visit to the student's home and meeting parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents, offer Hernandez and M. Matthew Musel.
  • For private schools, financial aid needs to be considered when looking to recruit Hispanic families since many live in poverty, but financial aid needs to be addressed later, after the school has made a case for why it is the best choice. ãSell the programs of your school and let parents make a decision based on information,ä advises Hernandez, who notes that his father was a migrant laborer who put 10 children through private schools. However, within schools, administrators must take a hard look at how much money they are willing to put toward attracting and making their school affordable for low-income students of color and Hispanic students in particular.
  • ãFor those schools that offer scholarships, they may need to revisit their criteria for selections,ä reflects Vega-Perez. ãMany times Latino students do not qualify merely because the criteria may have a barrier to the process.ä
  • One of the major issues for private and public schools is good communication with parents. ãUnderstand that Latino parents facing a language barrier and a new culture can feel frustrated and they may have difficulty in communicating with schools,ä advises Gabriela Harper with The Nu Group. ãMake time to get to know them and show interest in their lives. Making a personal connection is the first step towards effective communication with Latino parents,ä she notes.
  • As a counterpoint, Vega-Perez notes that while their currently is a large influx of Hispanic immigrants into Minnesota, it is important to remember that not all Latinos are immigrants.
  • Attracting Hispanic students involves looking at the school's mission. ãSchools need to ask themselves whether they think of Latinos as part of the community that they serveä notes Musel. For religiously-affiliated schools, mission can mean school and parent leaders attending the local Spanish-language religious service.
  • Schools that are looking to recruit Hispanic students may find that they need more counseling on academics subjects, often because they have been in several schools, according to Musel.
  • Private schools, particularly religious ones, have an advantage since many Latino parents ãhave a great preference for religious schools,ä notes Vega-Perez. Most on the panel had attended religiously-based schools in the U.S. or abroad.
  • Particularly in working with immigrant families, compassion and honesty are important. ãSpeak truth and love,ä says Musel. ãIn inviting new people into your school, you have to be honest with them about expectations. In turn, you may become aware of real problems within their lives, a lot of brokenness in their lives from poverty. And the success of some Hispanic students distances them from their community,ä he notes.
  • Immigration status is an important issue for some newly arrived Hispanic students. Musel notes that, ãSchools serve families who are not in this country legally. While immigration is not a legal concern for high schools, students who are illegal immigrants are often not accepted at colleges and can not receive federal financial aid.ä
  • A number of community resources for the Latino community are available in the Twin Cities, notes Marianni-Rosa and Vega-Perez. The Minnesota Minority Education Partnership plus several charter schools specializing in serving Latinos (El Colegio, La Escuelita, Academia Cesar Chavez) plus San Miguel, a Catholic Middle School in Minneapolis. These schools can serve advisors to the independent school community.

 

MISF is a non-profit consortium of 40 independent high schools and 15,000 students across Minnesota. MISF promotes and improves independent education through scholarships for high schools students and programs related to multicultural education, research and public policy.  

 

Members in MISF are: Academy of Holy Angels (Richfield); Benilde-St. Margaret's School (St. Louis Park); Bethlehem Academy (Faribault); The Blake School (Minneapolis); Breck School (Minneapolis); Cathedral High School (New Ulm); Cathedral High School/John XXIII Middle School (St. Cloud); Central Minnesota Christian Schools (Prinsburg); Concordia Academy (Roseville); Convent of the Visitation School (Mendota Heights); Cotter High School and Junior High School (Winona); Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul); DeLaSalle High School (Minneapolis); Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (Fergus Falls); Hill-Murray School (St. Paul); Holy Trinity Schools (Winsted); Lourdes High School (Rochester); Loyola High School (Mankato); Lutheran High School Association of Greater Minneapolis (Bloomington); Maplewood Academy (Hutchinson); Maranatha Christian Academy (Minneapolis); Marshall School (Duluth); Martin Luther High School (Northrop); Mayer Lutheran High School (Mayer); Minnehaha Academy (Minneapolis); Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School (New Ulm); New Life Academy (Woodbury); Pacelli High School (Austin); Sacred Heart School (East Grand Forks); Saint Bernard's School (St. Paul); Saint Thomas Academy (Mendota Heights); Shattuck-St. Mary's School (Faribault); Southwest Minnesota Christian High School (Edgerton); St. Agnes High School (St. Paul); St. Croix Lutheran High School (West St. Paul); Saint John's Preparatory School (Collegeville); St. Mary's High School (Sleepy Eye); St. Paul Academy and Summit School (St. Paul); Totino-Grace High School (Fridley); and West Lutheran High School (Plymouth).

 

 

For more information:

 

Nora Thorp

Director of Communication
MN Independent School Forum


Day: 651.297.6716

Cell: 612.481.9056

Home: 612.722.1664

nthorp@misf.org

www.misf.org